Gilbert West
Gilbert West (1703 - 26 March 1756) was an English poet and prose author. Life West was the son of Richard West by his wife Maria, daughter of Sir Richard Temple (1634–1697), and sister of Sir Richard Temple, viscount Cobham. Vice-admiral Temple West was his younger brother. The father, Richard West (1671-1716), was prebendary of Winchester, 1706, and archdeacon of Berkshire from 1710 until his death on 2 December 1716; he published an edition of Pindar in 1697, and an edition of Theocritus in 1699.Wroth, 330. Gilbert West was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, where he matriculated on 11 March 1721, and earned a B.A. in 1725. He served for some time in the army, and was afterwards employed under Lord Townshend, secretary of state. About 1729 he married Miss Catherine Bartlett, and retired to a pleasant house at Wickham in Kent, where (says Samuel Johnson) "he devoted himself to learning and to piety." Here he was often visited by Pitt (Earl of Chatham) and George Lyttleton. He is said to have influenced their religious views, and Lyttelton addressed to him (1747) his work on St. Paul. West was a correspondent of Philip Doddridge, and was somewhat friendly with Pope, who left him in his will 5l. for a ring and a reversionary legacy of 200l. (Pope, Works, ed. Elwin, viii. 347). In 1752 he was given a clerkship of the privy council. On 16 April 1754 he was made paymaster to Chelsea Hospital. He died on 26 March 1756. His widow survive him; their only son died in 1755. Writing In 1747 West published at Dublin Observations on the Resurrection, a work which became well known. Mr. Leslie Stephen (English Thought in the Eighteenth Century, i. 61) describes the book as "a naïve recapitulation of the ordinary argument" in which the various narratives, after being harmonised, are treated as the agreeing testimony of eye-witnesses whose good faith is proved by their sufferings. The book reached a 4th edition in 1749. Later editions were dated 1767, 1785, 1807, 1841. There was a German translation in 1748 as well as a French translation. In 1749 West published his verse translation of the Odes of Pindar, with several other pieces translated, which was often reprinted (1751, 1753, 1810, 1824). Horace Walpole (Letters, ii. 163) justly remarks that "the poetry is very stiff," and Johnson points out that it is "too paraphrastical." The introductory dissertation on the Olympic games was praised by Gibbon. West's miscellaneous poetry is printed in the collections of Johnson, Bell, Anderson, and Chalmers. His imitations of Spenser (A Canto of the Faery Queen, 1739, fol. and Education: A poem, 1751, 4to) and his Institution of the Order of the Garter: A dramatick poem, 1742, 4to (also London, 1771, 8vo, as altered by Garrick), deserve mention. Recognition On 20 May 1736 an annual pension of £250 was granted to West. He was granted the degree of Doctor of Civil Law by the University of Oxford on 30 March 1748 for Observations on the Resurrection. His widow was allowed a pension of £200 a year from 5 July 1756. Publications *''Stowe: The gardens of the Right Honourable Richard, Lord Viscount Cobham. London: J. Wright, for Lawton Gilliver, 1732. *A Canto of the Fairy Queen; written by Spenser. London: G. Hawkins, 1739. *Education: A poem in two cantos. London: R. Dodsley, 1751. *''Poetical Works. Edinburgh: Apollo Press, by the Martins, 1782. *''Poetical works of James Thomson, James Beattie, Gilbert West, and John Bampfylde'' (edited by Myles Birkett Foster). London: Routledge, Warne, & Routledge, 1853. Play *''The Institution of the Order of the Garter: A dramatick poem'' (masque). London: R. Dodsley, 1742. Non-fiction *''Observations on the History and Evidence of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ''. London: R. Dodsley, 1747. Translated *Pindar, Odes; with several other pieces translated. London: R. Dodsley, 1749; Dublin: P. Wilson / J. Exshaw / J. Esdall / et al, 1751. *Thucydides, The Oration of Plato, in Two Orations in Praise of Athenians Slain in Battle (edited by Edward Bentham). London: R. Dodsley, 1759. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Gilbert West, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Jan. 7, 2017. See also *List of British poets References * . Wikisource, Web, Jan. 7, 2016. Notes External links ;Poems *"Father Francis's Prayer to St. Agnes: In imitation of Chaucer" *"Verses occasion'd by a Poem of Mr. Lyttelton's to the Memory of Capt. Grenville of the Defiance Man of War" *First Pythian Ode" *To Lady Langham, Widow of Sir John Langham, Bt. ;About *Gilbert West (1703-1756) at English Poetry, 1579-1830 * West, Gilbert Category:1703 births Category:1756 deaths Category:18th-century poets Category:English-language poets Category:English poets Category:Poets Category:Old Etonians Category:People educated at Eton College Category:Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford